Browse related Subjects

A raw, intensely personal memoir of spiritual exploration from one of the world's great commentators on religion. After seven years in a convent, which she left, dismayed by its restrictions, an experience recounted in Through the Narrow Gate, Karen Armstrong struggled to establish herself in a new way of life, and became entrapped in a downwards ...
Read More

A raw, intensely personal memoir of spiritual exploration from one of the world's great commentators on religion. After seven years in a convent, which she left, dismayed by its restrictions, an experience recounted in Through the Narrow Gate, Karen Armstrong struggled to establish herself in a new way of life, and became entrapped in a downwards spiral, haunted by despair, anorexia and suicidal feelings. Despite her departure from the convent she remained within the Catholic Church until the God she believed in 'died on me', and she entered a 'wild and Godless period of crazy parties and numerous lovers'. Her attempts to reach happiness and carve out a career failed repeatedly, in spectacular fashion. She began writing her bestseller A History of God in a spirit of scepticism, but through studying other religious traditions she found a very different kind of faith which drew from Christianity, Judaism and Islam and, eventually, spiritual and personal calm. In her own words, her 'story is a graphic illustration -- almost an allegory -- of a widespread dilemma. It is emblematic of a more general flight from institutional religion and a groping towards a form of faith that has not yet been fully articulated but which is nevertheless in the process of declaring itself. ' Her lifelong inability to pray and to conform to traditional structures of worship is shared by the many who are leaving the established churches but who desire intensely a spiritual aspect to their lives. The Spiral Staircase grapples with the issue of how we can be religious in the contemporary world, and the place and possibility of belief in the twenty-first century.
Read Less

New. 0007122292 FIFTH PRINTING, APRIL 2004. DIFFERENT COVER. NEAR FLAWLESS. EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN SOFTCOVER COPY IS FIRST EDITION. COVER TO DIE FOR IS WHOLE WITH GOOD COLOR, MINIMAL STORAGE FLAWS, AND NO STICKERS. NO NAMES OR MARKS SEEN ON TEXT PAGES. NOT EX-LIBRARY, NOT REMAINDER-MARKED. We ship faster than lightening on a golf course? Maybe, but an Informed Buyer is our Best Customer. All sales are guaranteed satisfaction. 01 16 2014 SWLS2-NF26 1.

New. Published by Vintage Canada in 2005. Very light shelf wear to cover, otherwise NEW. Quality Books...Because We Care-Shipped from Canada. Usually ships within 1-2 business days. If you buy this book from us, we will donate a book to a local school. We donate 10, 000+ books to local schools every year.

Alibris, the Alibris logo, and Alibris.com are registered trademarks of Alibris, Inc.

Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited, Baker & Taylor, Inc., or by their respective licensors, or by the publishers, or by their respective licensors. For personal use only. All rights reserved. All rights in images of books or other publications are reserved by the original copyright holders.